Here's the thing ------- Not all the birds you will hatch will be exhibition quality. Out of 50 you MAY get 5, possibly more, but not usually. There will a certain percent that you can use for breeding the rest will be junk, or as breeders call them "pet Quality"

The price of the birds depends on how well they do in Sanctioned Shows.(Big Shows-- County & State Fairs don't count). If they do well (Win their class) you can get up to $100 each. Generally the Breeders keep the best, because breeding the best to the best gives you the best chance of producing like birds. I've showed for a long time & don't know of anybody that got rich off selling birds. At best, It usually works out that it is a break even deal

Araucana are one of the hardest breeds to hatch. If the birds the eggs come from are show quality birds, the price of the eggs will run about $50 for 12 eggs, so it is unlikely anyone can afford to purchase 100 eggs. This price is based on the prices I charge as well as 4 other breeders who sell hatching eggs from their exhibition pens.

Of the 12 eggs set most likely 6 to 9 will hatch, maybe less, or especialy less if they are shipped eggs. I get a 90% hatch rate from my own birds.

In order for a bird to be show quality it will need to be rumples, tufted, have the correct leg color, body type, and plumage color plus a few other things. Only at most 25% of hatched chicks will be tufted, so lets say out of 100 eggs, maybe if your fortunate 25 will be tufted. Tufted chicks are very fragile for the first couple of months and you will most likely have a few deaths. If you are very very lucky, you will end up with 15 tufted birds. How many of those will be show quality. Law of averages says maybe 1.

Now I sell correctly colored cleanfaced and rumples pullets for $35.00 each at about 5 months. Straight run chicks that are cleanfaced are $15.00. Roosters unless they are perfectly colored and have perfect tufts, no one wants. So you will not be making much money there.

You wont know if a bird is exhibition quality until it is about 1 year old and that is a long time to feed a bird that you are looking to sell for top dollar.

I put 50 eggs in and was hoping to end up with maybe 15 as i am splitting the hatch with the person who gave them to me.

I also heard that some of them had genes that would kill the chick in the egg.

Is that true?

Thanks

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It really depends on who the breeder is and how their breeding pens are set up. A tufted to tufted breeding pen will be fatal to 50% of the tufted chicks, a cleanfaced to tufted breeding pen will still have up to a 20% fatality rate.